Oral traditions and the verbal arts : a guide to research practices
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Oral traditions and the verbal arts : a guide to research practices
(ASA research methods in social anthropology)
Routledge, 1992
- : pbk
Available at 35 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Bibliography: p. [234]-269
Includes indexes
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
ISBN 9780415048408
Description
Oral literature, oral tradition, verbal folklore, folk literature, oral performance, popular culture - these areas of human communication and performance are now attracting increasing attention from social anthropologists. Designed as a guide both to the practicalities of fieldwork and to the range of methods by which oral texts and performance can be observed, collected or analysed, "Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts" takes the reader through all the stages of preparing for, conducting, and following up research. Particular emphasis is laid on the recent interdisciplinary work on performance, on the "processes" involved in the creation and analysis of texts, and on related ethical issues. The book is distinctive in its comparative perspective, with examples taken from both historical and modern cultures, ranging from African and South Pacific forms to those from contemporary Europe. Theoretical controversies about approach and terminology are clarified, and a full and up-to-date bibliography is included. This book should be of interest to students and teachers of anthropology, cultural studies, folklore, oral literature, general readers.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: scope and terminology 2. Theoretical Perspectives 3. Some Prior Issues and Practicalities 4. Collecting, Recording and Creating Texts: preliminaries and mechanics 5. Observing and Analysing Performance 6. Production, Functions and Ideas 7. Genres and Boundaries 8. Analysing and Comparing Texts: style, structure and content 9. Texts in Process: translation, transcription and presentation 10. Ethics.
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780415048415
Description
The study of oral traditions and verbal arts leads into an area of human culture to which anthropologists are increasingly turning their attention. Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts provides up-to-date guidance on how to approach the study of oral form and their performances, treating both the practicalities of fieldwork and the methods by which oral texts and performances can be observed, collected or analysed. It also relates to those current controversies about the nature of performance and of 'text'.
Designed as a practical and systematic introduction to the processes and problems of researching in this area, this is an invaluable guide for students, and lecturers of anthropology and cultural studies and also for general readers who are interested in enjoying oral literature for its own sake.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction: scope and terminology 1.1 Preview 1.2 'Language', 'speech' and 'text': some initial questions 1.3 Some central terms-accepted and disputed 1.4 'Text(s)': a special case 1.5 The interest of the problems 2 Theoretical perspectives 2.1 The role of theory 2.2 Continuing methodological tensions 2.3 Background to studies of oral tradition and verbal art 2.4 Influential methodologies and theories 2.5 Current trends 3 Some prior issues and practicalities 3.1 Some strategic questions 3.2 Background preparation 3.3 Recording equipment 3.4 Relevance for archive research 4 Collecting, recording and creating texts: preliminaries and mechanics 4.1 Some initial techniques and provisos 4.2 The settings for collecting and recording 4.3 Making and keeping records 4.4 Preliminary processing 5 Observing and analysing performance 5.1 Concepts of 'performance' and their significance 5.2 Audiences, performers, participants 5.3 Other components of performances 6 Production, functions and ideas 6.1 Composition, transmission and memory 6.2 Social and economic position of participants 6.3 Verbal art, oral tradition and functions 6.4 Local aesthetics and thought 7 Genres and boundaries 7.1 Approaches to classification 7.2 Some crucial boundaries: or are they? 7.3 Differentiating and studying genres 7.4 Some common genre terms and controversies 7.5 Cross-cutting themes 7.6 Final points 8 Analysing and comparing texts: style, structure and Content 8.1 Textual analysis: problems and opportunities 8.2 Variation, typology and comparison 8.3 Structure and structuralist methods 8.4 Stylistic features and problems 8.5 Relevance of literary analysis and written literature 8.6 Specialist techniques: counting, content and computers 8.7 The quest for 'meaning' 9 Texts in process: translation, transcription and Presentation 9.1 Translating 19.2 Transcription and representation 9.3 The presentation and dissemination of texts and performances 9.4 Conclusion 10 Ethics
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